Ribble Valley charity goes back to Victorian roots

A REGIONAL children’s charity based in the Ribble Valley is looking to its Victorian foundations for inspiration for fund-raising.

It is 120 years since the very first “Pound Day” took place at the former Blackburn Orphanage in Wilpshire – now the head offices of Child Action Northwest – on June 24th, 1892.

Traditionally, Pound Day encouraged local people to donate a pound in money or a pound in weight of something useful to the running of the home. Now Child Action Northwest has received Heritage Lottery funding to support a Victorian-themed open day on Sunday June 24th 2012, and to encourage other organisations to stage their own Pound Days in their company, school or community group.

The aim is to raise vital funds to help secure a bright future for the children and young people the charity works with, following Government cuts last year of £1.4m.

Volunteer Margaret Evans, from Wilpshire, is helping to organise the event. She explained: “The event is for the families we work with, as well as activities for young and old to come together to find out about our history and learn about how we continue to support children and young people in need today.

“We are staging a Victorian-themed, vintage fun day which will include a helter skelter, chair-o-plane rides, and traditional side stalls, Victorian dressing up, storytelling, with history presentations and crafts.

“Child Action Northwest held its first open day in September last year, which attracted hundreds of people, so for this event we have booked a couple of buses and Carr Hall Garden Centre are kindly letting us use their car park to offer a park and ride service on the day.”

A new website has been launched dedicated to the event and can be found at: www.poundday.org.uk